Nursing bottle holder



Feb. 4, 1947. l.; R, MOORE 2,415,186

NURS ING BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Jan 29, 1945 INVENTOR. ELBERT R. MOORE ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 4, 1947 Unir stars PATENT ortica NURSllNG BTTLE HGLDER Elbert R. Moore, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application January 29, 1945, Serial No. 575,954

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for holding an infants nursing bottle in a crib in a position in which the infant may have access to the bottle for nursing. A primary object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle holder which will maintain the bottle at all times in a, readily accessible position.

Another object is to provide a bottle holder which will normally hold the bottle in a position in which the contents of the bottle will not drip therefrom, but at the same time will permit the bottle tobe tilted downwardly in a position from which the contents may be readily taken into the infants mouth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bottle holder which is adaptedto support a` plurality or bottles in position accessible to the infant and to permit the bottle to be shifted to a proper position for nursing. In this respect the invention contemplates making available to the infant at the same time a bottle f milk and a bottle of other liquid such as, for example, fruit Juice.

A general object of the invention is to provide a bottle hol-der which will permit an infant to feed itself from a plurality of bottles, without attendance by an adult except for the necessary steps of lling and removing the bottles.

A further object is to provide a bottle holder which, in addition to the advantageous characteristics designated above, is of relatively simple and inexpensive, yet durable, construction.

,Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification.

Referring to the drawing which is for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle holder embodying my invention, installed in an infants crib;

Fig. 2 is a plan View oi' the bottle holder;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the bottle holder; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken centrally through the bottle ho-lder and illustrating hcw a bottle held thereby may be manipulated by the infant.

As an example of one form in which the invention may be 'embodied I have shown in the drawing a bottle holder comprising a base 5 provided with a pair of hooks t adapted to be hooked over a side 'i of an infants crib 8. The base 5 may be secured to the hooks by means of screws Il), indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, extended through forwardly bent portions II of the hooks and embedded in the base 5.

opening therein and threaded into the base 5..

The support member I2 is preferably of sector shape in order that it 'may pivot through an arc of atleast in order to bring either of two bottles i4 and I5, supported thereon at right angles to each other, into a proper nursing position.

Secured to the upper surface of the support member S2 is a pair of yokes it, each having in its upper side an arcuate, concave, seat Il, against` which a bottle l-'i or I may be secured by a strap IB extending thereover. rihe seats Il are of proper shape to conform to the cross sectional contour of the bottles, and are of soft or semisoft rubber so as to yieldingly conform to the bottle surface. The supporting yokes lli may be made or rigid material with a facing of rubber to provide the yielding seat il, but it is considered to be more satisfactory` to form the entire yoke in a single block of rubber or equivalent material having yielding characteristics and also providing a non-slipping surface for engagement with the bottle.

The strap I3 is of resilient material, preferably soft rubber or synthetic rubber and is adapted to engage `the bottle in a stretched or taut condition so as to yieldingly press the bottle against the yielding seat Il and cooperate with the latter in gripping the bottle so that it may not be easily pulled out of the yoke. At one end the strap I8 is secured to an end of the yoke I6 (as by vulcanizing) and the other end is normally free but provided with an opening I9 by means of which it may be secured to a peg 2!! secured in the opposite end of the yoke IE.

The seat I'I is sloped downwardly and toward the pivot I3, so that the bottle is normally held in a position inclined upwardly away from the pivot I3, so that the contents of the bottle will not drip from the nipple 2 I. The resiliency of the strap I8, however, permits the bottle to be readily tilted downwardly when grasped by the infant to a position more suitable for nursing, such as the position shown in dotted lines at 221 in Fig. 4. At the same time the seat I'I and strap I8 will continue to securely grip the end of the bottle so as to normally prevent its being pulled out of the yoke.

When the infant releases the bottle, the tension in the strap I8 will force the bottom of the bottle downwardly and the projecting nipple end of the bottle upwardly to the normal position of rest shown in full lines in Fig. 4.

It will now be apparent that the invention provides a holder by which a bottle may be. supported in such a manner that it may be swung laterally in a horizontal plane, or tilted vertically in order to bring it to a desirable position for nursing. At the same time, the 'bottle is restrained from being moved to a position in which it is inaccessible to the infant. One of the disadvantages of bottle holders now available is that such holders are not adapted to be anchored in a xed position, and they are apt to become displaced to a position from which the infant can no longer have proper access for nursing. My invention provides for anchoring the holder to the crib, but permits of sufcient universal movement of the bottle to enable it to be readily manipulated by the infant to a proper nursing position.

As shown, the base and support member I2 are fabricated from wood, but it is to be understood that they may be of metal, plastic or any other relatively durable material. The yokes I6 are secured to the support member -I2 in positions disposed at an angle to each other, which angle may be a right angle as shown or may be an obtuse angle, or even an acute angle. Both yokes have substantially the same position with reference to the pivot I3 but in reverse relation to each other. lThe yokes may be secured to the support member I2 by cementing, bonding, or by suitable securing elements. A preferable method would` be to vulcanize the upper surface of the support member I2 to the yoke I6.

I claim as my invention:

1. A nursing bottle holder comprising: a base member having a pair of hooks adapted to be hooked over a side of a crib, a swinging support member pivoted to said base member for swinging in a horizontal plane, a yoke attached to said swinging support member and having a yielding upper seating surface of arcuate concave shape corresponding roughly to the cross section contour of a nursing bottle, and a strap of resilient material attached to one end of said yoke, adapted to be passed over the upper surface of a bottle resting in said seating surface and to be attached to the other end of the yoke in snug engagement with the bottle, said strap and yoke beand to support the bottle ina position projecting beyond said swinging support member and spaced upwardly from the plane of said base, said yielding strap being disposed closely adjacent the side of said support member over which said bottle projects, whereby to permit said bottle to be tilted downwardly to a nursing position without releasing the grip upon the bottle.

2. A nursing Ibottle holder comprising: a bracket adapted to be attached to the side of a crib, a yoke supported by said bracket, said yoke having a resilient upwardly facing seat of concave shape adapted to receive one side of a bottle, and a strap of resilient material attached to said yoke at one end thereof, adapted to be passed over the upper side of the bottle resting in said seat, and to be secured at its other end in taut condition in engagement with the bottle and in a position wherein the bottle is gripped between said strap and said yoke projecting horizontally over the crib and spaced thereabove, the resiliency of said strap permitting the projecting portion of the bottle to be tilted downwardly to a nursing position and returning the bottle to said projecting position when the bottle is released,

and said yoke being arranged with an unobstructed space below the side thereof over which the bottle projects', in order to permit said downward tilting.

3. In a nursing bottleY holder, a support mem-- ber, and means to support a nursing bottle thereon by its end only, so thatv the bottle may bel pulled to a downwardly inclined nursing position, said meansbeing yieldable to permit said downward movement and being elastic to return the bottle to a non-downwardly inclined position when released.

ELBERT R. MOORE.

REFERENCES Cr'rED rThe following references are of record in 'the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS l 

